Whta are the Aims of Professional Preparation in Counselling

Teachers and counselors both are involved in the process of assisting youngsters. Both works towards common professional goals and their efforts revolve around one central goal: the total well-being and development of the individual. The common goals of a teacher and a counselor are as follows:

1. Purposeful values that are appropriate to self and society.
2. A sensitivity to causal factors that affect behavior.
3. Insight into one’s potential as a person.
4. A realization of an interactive process within one’s environment.
5. Self-discipline by the assumption of responsibility for one’s actions and reactions! (Boy and Pine, 1968).

These common goals provide visionary quality which enables them to look beyond daily routine life. If teachers and counselors work in isolation from each other. These common goals provide visionary quality that enables them to look beyond daily routine life. If teachers and counselors work in isolation from each other. Their potential for assisting youngsters may never be realized. If there is agreement that the process of assisting youngsters is a cooperative task between teachers and counselors. Then the teacher and counselor should realize that:

•  goals of effective teaching and counseling are congruent with each other.
• each contributes to the maturation of youngsters.
• each enhance other’s effectiveness for each other’s profession.
• principles of effective communication is utilized by each other.

Aims of counseling are synonymous with the ultimate goals of education i.e. each pupil should attain optimum development of individual and each child should become a responsible adult capable of self-direction. Boy and Pine (1968) referred to Vineyard who indicated that counseling is borrowed from the American conceptualization of democracy. Basic tenants are the following:

1. Respect for dignity and worth of each individual
2. The right of an individual for self-growth and self-development
3.  The right of each person to equal opportunities of self-development, self-expression, and self-fulfillment.
4.  Recognition of inter-relatedness of individual and group welfare.
5.  The right of each individual for the opportunity of social and economic mobility within the prevailing occupational and class structure.
6.  Recognition of no legitimate limiting factors on individual development and
   mobility other than ability, effort, and the security of rights of others.

So an effective counselor preparation program may be designed to enable the counselor.

•  to assist the clients to assume responsibility
• to accept the clients
• to motivate clients
• to involve the client in the counseling process
• to interact with a client at a human level
• to provide a safe environment for the client
• to understand the client
• to make client self-disciplined
• to develop more awareness of one’s self.
• To develop more insight of the client’ is the most authoritative guideline in the policy statement of professional preparation this standard is set by the American Personal Guidance Association (APGA). The standard is a master’s degree based on two years of graduate work. This has four components:
• Broad educational background enables the counselor to understand the people with how he works and the world in which they live.
• Basic psychological knowledge, including principles, theories, research techniques relevant to counseling.
• Mastery of procedures and techniques involved in counseling.
• Tinder standing of employment environments in which counseling is done.

Characteristics Of Counselling Programme:

Characteristics of any counseling program evolve from its aims. The major aims of most of the programs are to encourage students to develop:

1. human relationship skills
2. technical skills (understanding test technology)
3. conceptual skills (theorizing and explaining) Shertzer and Stone, (1976.)

Another important aspect of professional training is of renewal. A counselor who received training 10.5 or even 3 years ago may not be able to meet the present challenges effectively. The renewal program should not aim at teaching everything which was included in the pre-entrance counseling program. These programmes should aim at career development, group process skills, and consultation